Miles Kenney-Lazar Doctoral Candidate, Clark University & Research Affiliate, Ministry of Natural Resources & Environment (MoNRE) Lao PDR Evaluating the state of large-scale land acquisitions in the Lao PDR

Context ● Large-scale land investments are increasing globally and in the Lao PDR ● “Turning land into capital” policy in the Lao PDR ● Evidence of negative impacts and lack of compliance ● 2012 Prime Ministerial Decree No. 13 ● Lack of comprehensive database on investments

The State Land Lease and Concessions Inventory (SLLCI) ● First systematic inventory of land investment data in Laos ( ) ● Implemented by Ministry of Natural Resources & Environment (MoNRE) with support from GiZ, SDC & CDE ● Database contains key investment info: – Area granted, capital invested, investor origin – Spatial location for 53% of projects (points)

Results of the SLLCI ● 2,642 projects – 1,532 concessions – 1,107 leases ● 1.1 million ha of land conceded to investors – Mining: 549,000 ha – Agriculture & forestry: 440,000 ha ● Average concession size: 800 ha

Updating & improving the database ● Areas of improvement: – Progress and status of each project – Spatial data (points and polygons) – Evaluation of impacts or quality of investment – Institutionalization of data collection and sharing process

Methodology: investment database ● Acquire concession data from investments documents ● Acquire spatial data from survey maps, GIS shapefiles and remote sensing imagery ● Consult with local government partners, companies, and villages to validate the data

Initial results Initial results: investment database

Methodology: quality of investment ● Structured, closed-ended questionnaires conducted with government, company, and village stakeholders ● Mobile device based questionnaires (ODK collect) ● Evaluate and rate quality of all investments greater than 10 ha ● Potential integration with spatial database

Methodology: Evaluation Final performance score (out of 100%) 1. Implementation process (25%) 3. Social impacts (25%) 2. Economic impacts (25%) 4. Environmental impacts (25%)

Methodology: Evaluation 1. Implementation process (25% of total score) Land cleared in relation to survey boundary (5% of sub-score) (Legal references: PM Decree 135, Forestry Law 2007, Investment Promotion Law 2009) Project progress (5% of sub-score) (Legal references: PM Decree 135) Free, prior, and informed consent of communities (5% of sub-score) (Legal references: PM Decree 135, PM Decree 192)

Methodology: Evaluation 2. Economic impacts (25% of total score) Provision of compensation and method of determining compensation rates (5% of sub-score) (Legal references: PM Decree 192 on compensation) Payment of concession fees, royalties, and taxes (5% of sub-score) (Legal references: PM Decree 135, PM Decree 192) Delivery of community-level infrastructure (roads, electric lines, schools) (5% of sub-score) (Legal references: PM Decree 192 on compensation)

Methodology: Evaluation 2. Social impacts (25% of total score) Labor practices (5% of sub-score) (Legal references: Labor Law 2006) Safety procedures and medical benefits (5% of sub-score) (Legal references: PM Decree 135, Land Law 2003) Impact on local food security (5% of sub-score) (Legal references: NGPES)

Methodology: Evaluation 2. Environmental impacts (25% of total score) Legality of forest types cleared (5% of sub-score) (Legal references: Forest Law 2007) Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (5% of sub-score) (Legal references: PM Decree 135, PM Decree 112 on Environmental Impact Assessment, Forest Law 2007, Investment Promotion Law 2009) Water, air, and soil pollution (5% of sub-score) (Legal references: Law on Environmental Protection 1999)

Initial results: quality of investment scores Company:Rubber plantation, Phin district Rubber plantation, Viengphoukha district Coal mine, Viengphoukha district Implementation process (25) Economic impacts (25) Social impacts (25) Environmental impacts (25) Total score (100)

Evaluation break-down Indicator: village consent (implementation process) Data source: village committee interviews Company:Rubber plantation, Phin district Rubber plantation, Viengphoukha district Coal mine, Viengphoukha district Village freely consented or refused to concede land (5 points) ✓ Village consented to concede land, but did not feel free to refuse (2.5 points) ✓ Village was not asked for consent (0 points) ✓

Evaluation break-down Indicator: food security (social impacts) Data source: village interviews Company:Rubber plantation, Phin district Rubber plantation, Viengphoukha district Coal mine, Viengphoukha district Food security has increased as a result of the project (5 points) ✓✓ The project has not impacted food security (2.5 points) Food security has decreased as a result of the project (0 points) ✓

Evaluation break-down Indicator: pollution (environmental impacts) Data source: village, government interviews Company:Rubber plantation, Phin district Rubber plantation, Viengphoukha district Coal mine, Viengphoukha district Negligible air, water, & soil pollution has resulted from the project (5 points) ✓ Moderate pollution has resulted from the project (2.5 points) Significant amounts of pollution have resulted from the project (has major impacts upon village livelihoods) (0 points) ✓✓

Integration with global studies ● Comparability with UNCTAD & World Bank study on impacts of agricultural land investments ● Results of global study on impacts informs questionnaire for Laos study ● Enables cross-national comparison, potential research & evaluation models for other countries

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